Crypto in Mainstream
UN To Celebrate Women’s Day With NFTs
Boss Beauties, the women themed NFT collection, is releasing a series called Boss Beauty Role Models on International Women’s Day – March 8. It will be displayed at the UN headquarters.
Saudi Medical Institution Uses Blockchain
The Saudi medical institution, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center (KFSHRC) has deployed a digital credentialing system built on blockchain. Using this solution, KFSHRC is able to issue, manage, and verify the credentials of its resident doctors securely.
Tesla’s Bitcoin Impairment Losses
In a filing with the US Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC), Tesla has declared that it has recorded a $101 million impairment loss due to changes in the value of bitcoin and gains of $128 million on some of the bitcoin sales. It also disclosed that it invested $1.5 billion in bitcoin in the first quarter of 2021.
Coinbase Files for a PAC
Coinbase is forming a political action committee (PAC) ahead of the 2022 midterm US elections. It has registered “Coinbase Innovation PAC” with the Federal Election Commission earlier this week.
MUFG To Issue Stablecoin
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), Japan’s largest financial group, is planning to issue its proprietary stablecoin. This week, MUFG launched its blockchain based stablecoin platform “Progmat Coin,” built to issue stablecoins pegged to the Japanese Yen.
Binance Invests in Forbes
Crypto exchange Binance is investing $200 million in the magazine and digital publisher Forbes. This deal would make Binance one of the two largest owners of the 104 year old publishing company.
Alfa Romeo SUV With NFT
The Italian car maker Alfa Romeo is releasing its new Tonale SUV with an NFT certificate. Using this digital tag, customers can track their vehicles’ entire service history and maintenance records.
KPMG Buys Crypto
This week, KPMG Canada announced that it had added crypto assets, including bitcoin and ether, to its corporate treasury for the first time. Additionally, the accounting firm says it had bought carbon offsets to maintain a net zero carbon footprint.
Houses as NFTs
A four bedroom house in Gulfport, Florida, is auctioned as an NFT and sold for $650,000. Meanwhile, the One DAO, a decentralized organization, is attempting to buy Los Angeles’ One Bel Air property to make it owned by “a collective of anonymous people.”
Investments in Crypto Companies
Polygon Raises $450M
The layer 2 Ethereum scaling platform Polygon has raised $450 million in a funding round led by Sequoia Capital India. Alongside, VC firms such as Softbank Vision Fund 2, Galaxy Digital, and Tiger Global also invested in this round.
Alchemy’s $200M Funding Round
Alchemy Insights, Inc, the company that builds Web 3 developer tools scored a $200 million equity investment bringing its value to $10.2 billion. The funding round was led by Lightspeed Ventures and Silver Lake.
Newton’s $200M Valuation
A Canadian crypto platform Newton has raised $20 million in a Series B funding round that brought its valuation to $200 million. The round was led by DV Chain, along with Singh Capital Partners, Anthony Pompliano, Tiny Capital, and Snowdevil Capital.
Compute North Raises $385M
Compute North, the data center provider for mining crypto, has raised $300 million in debt financing and an $85 million Series C equity round. Mercuria and Generate Capital led the Series C funding, and Generate also provided the debt financing.
Photo NFT Platform’s Series A
The photo NFT platform Quantum Art has raised $7.5 million in a Series A round led by True Ventures. The NFT firm plans to use the fund to onboard more creators and also explore opportunities beyond photography.
Regulations, Law, and Crypto
DOJ Seizes $3.6B Linked to Bitfinex Heist
The US Department of Justice announced that it had seized over $3.6 billion worth of bitcoin linked to the 2016 hack of crypto exchange Bitfinex. It has also arrested social media personality Heather Morgan and her husband, Ilya Lichtenstein, allegedly for laundering the crypto stolen in the heist.
Nations and Crypto
Russia To Regulate Crypto
The Russian government is developing a framework to integrate crypto into its financial system. The framework reportedly would place crypto transactions under state oversight and apply stringent obligations for investing in crypto markets.
North Korea Funds Missile Programs With Stolen Crypto
In a report released this week, a panel of UN experts posits that North Korea continues to steal from crypto firms and financial institutions. The report states that this stolen money is funding its nuclear and missile programs.
New In Crypto Town
Valkyrie’s Bitcoin ETF Gets SEC Nod
Valkyrie Capital’s Bitcoin Mining ETF, which focuses on companies using at least 77% renewables, has obtained approval from the US SEC. The ETF is listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker “WGMI.”
Aave’s Lens Protocol
DeFi platform Aave launched Lens Protocol, a decentralized social media network built on the Polygon blockchain. Aave says this “Web 3, smart contracts based social graph” is based on dynamic NFTs.
Ubisoft Partners With The Sandbox
Video game publisher Ubisoft announced its partnership with Ethereum based metaverse The Sandbox. Ubisoft plans to bring its popular Rabbids franchise to metaverse with this deal.
Gucci Buys Virtual Land
The designer clothing brand Gucci announced that it had bought virtual land on The Sandbox. It plans to create themed experiences that list items like Gucci NFTs and vintage bags.
Wirex Expands to US
Crypto payments company Wirex is expanding its presence to the US by enabling US users to buy and use 37 different cryptocurrencies. The Wirex app links to a contactless Visa debit card, using which the customers can spend their crypto online or in stores.
Sports, Influencers, and Crypto
Saudi Princess Launches NFT
Saudi princess Reem Al Faisal launched her first NFT collection, “Mekkah and Madinah,” in a metaverse art gallery, alongside the OpenSea marketplace. The collection features the Saudi shrine, Al Kabbah.
Terra Signs Contract With MLB Team
After weeks of speculation, blockchain platform Terra finally disclosed that it had struck a deal with MLB’s Washington Nationals. Terra has signed a five year sponsorship deal using $40 million from the Terra community and investors.
Tezos Sponsors Man United
Tezos blockchain has reportedly signed a deal with the English Premier League club, Manchester United. Man United will receive £20 million per year in exchange for Tezos sponsoring the football club’s training kits.
Crypto W’s and L’s
Coalition To Fight Market Manipulation
A group of crypto firms, including Coinbase, Circle, and Huobi, have launched the “Crypto Market Integrity Coalition.” Their aim is to crack down on any market manipulation in an attempt to build trust in the digital asset industry.
Nike Sues StockX
The apparel giant Nike has filed a lawsuit against online reseller, StockX alleging StockX to have sold over 500 unauthorized Nike branded NFTs. It claims StockX is creating a false association likely to confuse consumers.
Anti Vax Truckers Turn To Bitcoin
The “Freedom Convoy,” a group of Canadian truckers protesting against the COVID-19 vaccine mandate in Ottawa, has raised close to 16 bitcoin worth over $700,000. This shift to crypto comes after the Canadian law enforcement worked with GoFundMe to block its $10 million in donations.
QiDAO Exploit
The Superfluid vesting contract of Polygon based DeFi protocol QiDAO was exploited, resulting in a loss of $13 million worth of crypto. As per QiDAO’s Twitter feed, only the funds transacted using the Superfluid contract are impacted, whereas those on the QiDao contracts are safe.
And Finally, Satoshibles on Stacks
Ethereum based Satoshibles NFT collection is now also available on Stacks, a platform built on bitcoin. A cross chain bridge, the StacksBridge allows Satoshibles owners to move their NFTs from Ethereum to Stacks and back with ease.
Web3, 2, 1...Tech 